Page 77

It’s worth a shot now that I have somewhere that feels like home. A place I could wake up and be happy seeing every day. Or at least a person who feels like that.

The door to our quarters hisses open, and Hyva appears next to me seconds later.

“I’m going to put this cooling pack over your head, okay?” He sets his bag on the mattress beside my hip.

I nod, knowing that trying to speak will only hurt more at this point. My vision is already tunneling, the blackness of my migraine coming to swallow the little light filtering into the room from the window looking out into space. He wraps a cold, smooth mask over my eyes and forehead and around the back of my head. It instantly soothes me in a way nothing else ever has.

“I’m also going to give you an injection of the medication you used to take on Oculus Nine. This might be a little stronger since it is a liquid. Are you okay with that?”

I give him another slight nod. The scent of antiseptic hits my nostrils, churning my stomach as he cleans my skin. I feel a pinch and then the burn of the medication enters my bloodstream. Almost immediately everything begins to fade, my consciousness included.

CHAPTER25

RAIZ

* * *

“You can turn the lights back up a bit,” Hyva says as he caps the needle he just used and puts it in a sterile discard bag. “She’s asleep.”

We both look down at her as the lights turn back to dim. “She was reading when the headache started.”

Her lips press into a line; tension bleeds from the shape of her mouth and the stiff way she lays on the bed. Her chest moves up and down rhythmically, though, in slow, measured breaths that seem calm if not relaxed. I wish there was an easy answer to how to solve her headaches. And the mental episodes.

The futility I feel is maddening.

“How long did it take to go from the beginning of her headache to this?” He pulls out his tablet to input my answers.

“Minutes from when she stood up and mentioned her head beginning to hurt.”

Hyva makes a humming sound as he taps on the screen. “What was she reading about?”

“She’d spent most of the day researching both human physiology and things to know to help ready herself for the mission to the temple.”

“Did she seem more stressed than usual about anything?”

More stressed than usual. That’s an interesting question. In all fairness, I’ve only known her for a short period of time, despite knowing she’s my mate, I couldn’t say whether she was more or less stressed than usual.

“I’m not sure. I don’t think I can answer that.” A small whimper comes from her. “Should I go inside her head and check on her?”

“No. Give her some time. The medication she takes is strong.” He lifts her wrist and places two fingers on the inside of it. “Her pulse is steady. She’s not in distress.”

I don’t like it. Knowing she could be slipping into that white void inside herself without me. Whoever that male is that somehow slips inside with her and seemingly knows more than she does worries me.

He could hurt her.

Then I’d have to add another to my list of enemies.

Not that he’s not already there just for having the audacity to violate her space the way he does. If I ever come face to face with the male, he’s as good as dead. Hyva’s hand on my shoulder pulls me from my rapidly darkening thoughts.

“We should let her rest.”

I don’t want to leave her side, but I follow him out into the living area. He walks over to the bar cart in the corner and pours us both a glass of ale. The bitter brew sits on my tongue as my thoughts stay focused on Neev. If my dark mood bothers Hyva, he doesn’t give any indication.

“Did she find anything while she was looking through this?” He holds up the book on human physiology.

“No.” I take another sip while he thumbs through the pages. “But I did float the idea of her being more than human.”

He turns to me. “How did that go?”